News Europe Can Use

Maybe it is just us, but three categories of prediction have become so laden with spin, obfuscation and ass-covering, their prose so muddied, that really it would be better if they were merely never spoken of again. These three are energy prices, terrorism and inflation. Pronouncements about the risk of these three-horsemen are so utterly devoid of content that one feels lighter after listening to them. It is possible that the recent abject uselessness of public debate and the public officials who publicly debate it has jaded us. But, actually, we don't think so. Consider, for example, the opaque blathering of European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet today, conveniently filtered through the prose-sanitizer of financial journalist William Watts:

Inflation pressures in the euro zone have diminished "somewhat" and downside economic risks have increased, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday, following the central bank's decision to leave its key lending rate unchanged at 4.25%. Trichet warned, however, that inflation was likely to remain elevated for some time and noted that wage growth has been picking up despite weaker economic activity and declining labor productivity.

I think you will agree that the floor of the House yields more meaningful content. Also, a hint for aspiring financial journalists everywhere: If you really have to torture headlines to work in both the name and the title of the article's primary subject to make sure your readers know who and what the hell you are talking about, or if you have to remind them that short sellers profit when share prices fall, just save everyone the headache move on to a simpler subject.ECB's Trichet: Inflation pressures diminished 'somewhat' [MarketWatch]